I didn't know it was theft": Trials began in Paris for participants in the October 17 riots.
Those arrested during the October 17 protests appeared in a Paris court on Tuesday. They were charged with various offenses, from assaulting police officers and resisting arrest to possession of stolen property, France24 reports.
First up for trial is Victor B., a 21-year-old audio-visual production student living in the Paris suburb of Sartreville, accused of being one of several hundred rioters who set up barricades and threw paving stones and other objects at the police while shouting "ACAB", an acronym for "all cops are bastards".
In their reports, the officers who arrested him described the young man as "hostile and extremely aggressive".
In a weak voice Victor presents a completely different version of what happened. According to him, he came to the demonstration with his girlfriend, but lost her in the crowd. When the police began to disperse the rioters, he was afraid. The young man claims that he fell to the ground and then the police beat him several times with batons on the head.
Regarding the barricade, the young man explains that he only moved a wooden board that was placed on top of a burning garbage container.
Victor was arrested with a smoke bomb fitted with a retractable pin. According to him, he intended to use it with friends who brought a camera to the demonstration to make a short film.
"Maybe you should have thought about it a little more," the judge notes.
"I would never throw her at the police," stammers Victor.
Next to appear in court are 38-year-old Lamin B. and 34-year-old Sufian R. The two friends are accused of stealing and damaging property from the Louis Vuitton store located in the Printemps store on Haussmann Boulevard.